Realist and Feminist Structures in Perkins Gilman's The Yellow Essay

Realist and Feminist Structures in Perkins Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper and Kate Chopin's The Storm - Essay Example Another similarity is the use of naturalist devices to construct both stories. Each story depicts the life of a single female protagonist who is mired in realistic situations that the reader can easily relate to. In addition to these similarities, both stories carry overriding feminist ideas and critique which essentially form the bulwark of both stories. This paper will compare and contrast both stories based on these structural, thematic and literary devices. The development of climax in both stories is gradual, uses symbols and both stories tend to end as soon as the climax is achieved. Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper depicts the protagonist as going mad over time as her husband John locks her up in her room. The author has chosen the yellow wallpaper as a symbol to reflect changing attitudes and mental state on the part of the protagonist. The yellow color itself is something that the protagonist tends to loathe from the first time she looks at it. As the story proceeds to i ts climax, the yellow wallpaper tends to indicate and enhance the climax. According to Gilman (Carnley 23): â€Å"It is the strangest yellow, that wall-paper! It makes me think of all the yellow things I ever saw—not beautiful ones like buttercups, but old foul, bad yellow things. But there is something else about that paper—the smell!† Again towards the end of the story (Carnley 26): â€Å"For outside you have to creep on the ground, and everything is green instead of yellow.† At the climax, the protagonist goes mad thinking that she just managed to extricate herself from the yellow wallpaper which signals and symbolizes the climax. The story ends immediately afterwards as the protagonist’s husband John enters the room and faints while the protagonist continues her mad movements across the room. This is comparable to Chopin’s The Storm where the author has used the storm as a symbol while she moves slowly towards the climax. The behavior of Calixta and Alcee tends to change as the storm develops gradually. At the start of the story, the author states (Gale 81): â€Å"She stood there with Bobinot's coat in her hands, and the big rain drops began to fall.† However, as the story is about to end the author expresses the character of the storm as (Gale 82): â€Å"The growl of the thunder was distant and passing away.† This indicates that the gentle rain at the start of the story developed into a large storm with thunder and lightning that subsided as the protagonists were done with their adulterous affair. What is noticeable is that the story’s climax is symbolized by a storm and that the story tends to end as soon as the climax is achieved. The end is again abrupt much similar to Galmin’s The Yellow Wallpaper. In addition to this similarity, both stories employ naturalist devices in order to develop the story. The characters and the imagery provided by either author are realist and the reader c an relate these characters and scenarios to common life with ease. The protagonist in Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper is a common housewife while her husband is a physician and predictably they have a middle class background. The protagonist’s thoughts and emotions expressed in the story signify that she is an ordinary person like anyone else. The fastidious nature of the protagonist’s husband is also attributable to the trends of the time. In the late nineteenth century physicians were still discovering new methods of treatment and took their time to differentiate right treatment from wrong. The

Domestic Violence Against Women Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Domestic Violence Against Women - Research Paper Example This paper talks about women and children that are in great danger of abuse in the societies where they should obtain maximum protection. The persons expected to bring up the members of the family and provide the necessary care and protection are becoming bully and source of threat to other member’s life. The victims are unable to make their own decisions or voice their opinions because of fear for further consequence. They don’t receive their human rights and their lives are stolen by the ever-present threat and violence. The society needs to address a number of issues that concern the prevention of abuse of females and spread of AIDS among the same. Promoting and protecting the rights of the women in the various aspects of life such as education, employment opportunities, and balancing of power in relationship can reduce violence upon women. Promoting the rights of women enhances their status in the society and protects them from violence. Transforming gender roles can also be an effective method of protecting persons against violence and AIDS prevalence. The society should change the perception where the women should be innocent and submissive when it comes to sexual matters. Challenging harmful gender roles can prevent the spread of HIV and violence against the females. Another effective method of reducing the rates of violence among the female gender is through increasing education and awareness among all society members. Educating a girl child makes her aware of his rights, thus she is less vulne rable to getting exposure to violence and abuse.

Globalisation and Mass Media (Media Relations) Essay

Globalisation and Mass Media (Media Relations) - Essay Example Different theorists and practitioners of development differed in their emphasis, but they all agreed that rapid economic growth is the strategy of modernization. Moore argued, "what is involved in modernization is a 'total' transformation of a traditional or pre-modern society into the types of technology and associated social organization that characterize the 'advanced' economically prosperous, and relatively politically stable nations of the western world" (89). The leaders of new states in the Third World objected to how the existing international order had seemingly neglected their interests. Thus, they formed pressure groups, such as the Non-Aligned Movement in 1961 and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in 1964, to promote an independent path between the interests of the communist and capitalist world and to win some reforms in the international economy, respectively. From the 1950s to 1970s, the major strategy used in the Third World was import-substitution, which involved the development of a domestic industrial sector, with the long-term aim of capturing lucrative export markets. The state had to protect new producers from competition from cheaper foreign imports, through high tariffs or import controls, and initial investments were poured into consumer goods industries. (Kiely 29; ch. 1). State planning became the basis for post-war development in order to raise productivity and output of both the industrial, and the agricultural sectors. In this regard, many Third World countries, such as Mexico, the Philippines and India actively implemented the strategy of introducing a technological package starting in the 1950s and onward, with the support of American pro-development institutions, like the Rockefeller Foundation. By the late 1960s, however, the Third World's dream of a better life was shattered. Official measures of development, such as Gross National Product (GNP), failed to show the distribution of such income within a country or whether people's basic needs are provided (Kiely 29: ch. 1). A revised development strategy based on the ideas of 'redistribution and growth' and 'basic needs' was introduced by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in 1972 and the World Bank in 1973, respectively. The World Bank focused on increasing the productivity of the small farmer to stimulate economic growth and eliminate rural poverty, while the ILO concentrated on developing "appropriate labour-intensive technologies" (Kiely 30: ch. 1). However, these strategies failed because only a few states in the Third World had been concerned about alleviating the sufferings of the poor. Also, transnational companies/local capitalist enterprises that had invested their money in the Third World were more concerned about getting high rates of returns on investments (ROI) than in providing more employment opportunities. The debt crisis in the early 1980s ushered the neo-liberal 'counter revolution', "The Bretton Woods system of fixed exchange rates was effectively abandoned between 1971 and 1973," (Kiely 30: ch. 1; Brett 111-25) and had no successful replacement, with the

Impact of Motivation on workers productivity in the construction industry Essay Example for Free

Impact of Motivation on workers productivity in the construction industry Essay This is a research on the relationship between motivation and performance of workers in the Nigerian construction industry. It identifies a number of motivational schemes that enhance the performance of workers. Findings from the research on productivity of construction workers are reported. Two sets of questionnaires were employed in the study. One set was administered on management staff and the other on operatives. The study reveals that salaries paid to operatives in the study were below the stipulations of the Nigerian National Joint Industry Council. It further shows that operatives are rarely promoted, and operatives prefer financial incentives to nonfinancial incentives. The study recommends that increases in salary via promotion, overtime allowances and holidays with pay should be used as motivators (financial incentives) for increase in performance of construction workers (operatives). Keywords: construction, incentives, motivation, operatives, productivity. INTRODUCTION The output of the construction industry constitutes one-half of the gross capital, and three to eight percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in most countries (Arditi and Morkhtar 2000). Mee-Edoiye and Andawei (2000) declared that the employees in the civil and building construction industry of a country are the largest. The population of the workers compared to the whole workforce of a nation is significant. Anything done to the employees could either make or mar the quality of their work, the speed of progress,  the economy of the country and the social well-being of the workers. It follows from the foregoing therefore that workers should be well motivated for high performance and for the production of good quality products. However, despite this significant role the industry plays in the Nigerian national economy, the performance has not been impressive. Eldin and Egger (1990) noted that construction productivity has been declining steadily in spite of the rising cost and large labour intensive nature of construction projects around the world. The decline in the workers’ performance causes the failure of the building industry to deliver projects timely with the obvious consequences of cost overrun. Labour productivity according to Akindele (2003) is defined as labour output per day (man-day). This is often reduced by delayed, unclear or inadequate instructions, provision of poor tools and equipment, unbalanced work gangs, use of working method, lack of incentives, and failure to delegate authority from senior to lower level supervisors (Heap 1987). Aiyetan and Olotuah The productivity of individuals, which in turn affects the productivity of a company, is a very important parameter to watch as it measures a company’s competitive power. It is an indicator of a firm’s profit margin, a measure of the firm’s survival in business, a yardstick for remuneration of employees, and a means of recognition of hard work. LITERATURE REVIEW Productivity Productivity measures how efficiently resources are employed, It is defined as the ratio of a specific measure of output to a specific measure of input  per unit of labour and is measured as total output divided by the members of units of labour employed to produce that output Williams (1997) defines human capital (labour) as the accumulated knowledge, skill and experience of the labour force. As individual workers acquire more human capital, their productivity and hence their income grows. Labour comprises the broad category of human effort, both physical and mental directed towards productivity. Motivation Motivation is an art targeted to getting people work willingly, and an art of inducing one to behave in a particular manner to achieve a task. Mee-Edoiye and Andawei (2002) viewed motivation as a human engineering approach being triggered by the individual needs. Flippo (1982) defined motivation as a psychological process initiated by the emergence of needs involving a goal directed action and behaviour aimed at satisfying a particular desire. It is the inducement given to workers for higher output. Motivated behaviour has three basic characteristics: 1. It is sustained – it is maintained for a long time until satisfied. 2. It is goal-directed – it seeks to achieve an objective. 3. It results from a felt need – an urge directed towards a need. Several authors including Robert and GeneNeuport (1995), Williams (1997) and Cole (1999) have propounded theories to help to understand the human being and how to handle him to get goals achieved. The theories propounded include: 1. The Maslow’s Theory of Hierarchy of Needs: Abraham Maslow developed a needs–based theory of motivation. People are extraordinary complex creatures with many motives for behaviours on and off the job. Maslow (1954) identified and analyzed five basic needs, which he believed underlay all human behaviours, these needs relate to physiology (the needs for food water, air and sex), security (safety, the absence of illness), society or affiliation (friendship, interaction, love), esteem (respect and recognition), and self actualization (the ability to reach one’s potentials). These are perceptions for high performance and productivity of individuals. Before Maslow, most managers assumed that money primarily motivated people. With Maslow’s work, managers can evaluate their own actions, their companies conduct and their individual philosophies about people. Maslow’s needs theory presented a workable motivation framework for managers. 2. McGregor’s Hygiene Theories X and Y Motivation on workers productivity An unmet need can frustrate an employee and make him unproductive. Douglas McGregor published the human side of enterprise in 1960. In it, he explained that managers operate from one or two basic assumptions about human behaviour: Theory X and Theory Y. The first theory, the view traditionally held about labour, portrayed workers in industry as being lazy and needing to be coerced, controlled and directed. The second described people as McGregor thought them to be; responsible, willing to learn and given the proper incentives inherently motivated to exercise ingenuity and creativity. McGregor holds the view that the traditional way of treating people – regarding them as unthinking, uncaring robots – must change. Indeed, McGregor stressed that only by changing these assumptions could managers tap workers’ or labourers’ vast talents. He emphasized that what matters was how people were treated and valued in their work settings. He went further by advising man agers to give employees a chance to contribute, take control and responsibility. Table 1 shows the assumptions of Theories X and Y. With these theories, managers could discover what employees want from workplace, how to enlist their cooperation and commitment and how to unleash their talents, energy and creativity for their ultimate goal, which in most cases is high level of productivity. Familiarity with theories of motivation allows a manager an educated viewpoint from which to consider how to develop workers, capture commitment and develop a positive work environment. Table 1: Assumption about workers according to theory X and theory Y Theory X People basically dislike work and avoid it whenever possible Because most people dislike work, they have to be closely supervised and threatened with punishment to reach objectives. Most people have little creativity. They are not capable of solving problems. Rather, they must be directed. Most people have limited intellectual potential. Contribution above basic job performance should not be expected. Theory Y Most people find work as natural as play or rest and develop an attitude towards work based on their experience with it. People do not need to be threatened with punishment; they will work voluntarily toward organizational objectives to which they are committed. Most people possess a high degree of imagination, ingenuity and creativity with which to solve organizational problems. Although people have intellectual potential, modern industrial life utilizes only part of it. Source: Plunkett and Attener (1994) The core of theories X and Y is that a management philosophy influences the type of work climate the manager endeavours to create and ultimately, how the manager treats people. Frederick Herzberg’s two-factor theory developed in (1975) also called hygienemotivator. One set of the theory defines factors that lead to job satisfaction; these factors are called hygiene factors. Salary: To prevent job dissatisfaction, a manger should provide adequate wages, salaries, and fringe benefits. Job security: Company grievance procedures and seniority privileges contribute to high-quality hygiene. Aiyetan and Olotuah Working conditions: Managers ensure adequate heat, light, ventilation, and hours of work to prevent dissatisfaction. Status: Managers who are mindful of the importance of hygiene factors provide privileges, job titles, and other symbols of rank and position. Company policies: To prevent job dissatisfaction, managers should provide policies as guidelines for behaviour and administer the policies fairly. Quality of technical supervision: When employees are not able to receive answers to job-related questions, they become frustrated. Providing highquality technical supervision for employees prevents frustration. Quality of interpersonal relations among peers, supervisors, and subordinates: In an organization with high-quality hygiene factors, the workplace provides social opportunities as well as the chance to enjoy comfortable work-related relationships. The other set of factor the theory defines is that which produces job satisfaction and motivation called motivators. Achievement: The opportunity to accomplish something or contribute something of value can serve as a source of job satisfaction. Recognition: Wise managers let employees know that their efforts have been worthwhile and that management notes and appreciates them. Responsibility: The potential for acquiring new duties and responsibilities, through either job expansion or delegation, can be a powerful motivator for some workers. Advancement: The opportunity to improve one’s position because of job performance gives employees a clear reason for high performance. The work itself: When a task offers the opportunity for self-expression, personal satisfaction, and meaningful challenge, employees are likely to  undertake the task with enthusiasm. Possibility of growth: The opportunity to increase knowledge and personal development is likely to lead to job satisfaction. TYPES OF MOTIVATION Motivation can be classified into two categories. These are non-financial and financial incentives schemes. Non-financial motivation is intangible; it includes advancement, the work itself, responsibility, recognition, relations with co-workers, company policy and working institutions. Financial Incentive Scheme There are two areas into which financial incentives scheme fall; those of operatives and those of managers. According to Cole (1997), incentive scheme for managers include, extra payments or increase in salaries, fringe benefits covering such items as, car, sickness benefits, free education for managers’ children, and free holidays. Others are free lunches, free travel abroad with wife and family, access to newspapers and journals, free interest loan and free medical scheme (Pigors 1981). Financial Incentives Schemes to Operatives Cole (1997) gave a list of financial incentives to operatives, which include good holiday pay, extra pay for shift work and uncomfortable, dirty and unhealthy conditions, profit sharing, long service allowances, overtime availability when operatives require it, pension fund contribution by the company, death benefits and dependants, employee’s liability insurance and medical facility to operative’s family. METHODOLOGY The study was carried out in Nigeria, and random sampling technique was used for selecting firms for study. Some towns where construction activities are high were selected; one from each of the three parts of the country (the north, east and west). Abuja, Port-Harcourt and Lagos were chosen. Since construction processes are the same throughout the country, these towns were used as representative samples of the study area since all towns cannot be reached for the study due to the huge sum of money that would be required as well as the time needed for such an endeavour. The target population for the study was the management staff (architects, builders, quantity surveyors and engineers) and contractors. In order to obtain the sample size of the study, the Corporate Affairs Commission was visited to obtain the number of registered companies with them and particularly those that have their head offices in the selected towns. A total of 96 companies were listed (registered), the formula be low given by Siegel and Castellan (1988) was used to obtain the sample size. It gave a sample size of 16 companies. Data was collected from 74 questionnaires. The operatives were asked the kind of motivation the management gives to them and they prefer to indicate their productivity as high. The management staff was also asked the kind of motivation they give and that which operatives prefer for high productivity. The mean score of the sum of central tendency (statistical tool) was used for the analysis of data since parameters analyzed is small. Presentation and Analysis of Data from questionnaire type 1 (for management) Majority of the respondents, 33.33% showed that the salary paid is slightly below the Nigerian National Joint Industrial Council (NJIC) agreement. For 27.27% construction firms pay exactly NJIC agreement, and 21.21% assert that salaries paid  construction workers are far below NJIC agreement, while 18.18% indicated that salaries paid construction workers is a little above NJIC. From the analysis, it could be seen that most of the organizations pay salary, which is below NJIC agreement, and this may affect the performance of workers negatively (Table 2) Table 2: Salary structure used compared with current NJIC agreement S/N Salary Structure Far above NJIC agreement A little above NJIC agreement Exactly NJIC agreement Slightly below NJIC agreement Far below NJIC agreement No. of Respondents 0 6 9 11 7 33 Percentage of Respondents 0% 18.18% 27.27% 33.33% 21.21% 100% Source: Fieldwork, 2005 Twenty nine percent (29%) of the organizations carry out promotion on company’s policy because of performance of workers. The study found out that promotion is not done on a regular basis, for example after every 3 years but based on the performance of workers (Table 3). Of all the motivating factors available in the construction industry, the most used for higher performance is overtime with 9.4% followed by health care services with 9.0% and thirdly by provision of transportation facility to and from work with 8.9%. The least used motivating factor is profit sharing with 3.3% followed by telephone services. The reason for overtime being used mostly as motivation for higher performance is that to the operatives, they receive money in return and while to the organization work done is increased. While health care services, which are free put confidence into workers to work hard, and when sick they will be taken adequate care of without spending money of their own (Table 4). As far as the operatives are concerned, the motivation they preferred most is holiday abroad with pay. The mean ranking is 7.79%. The likely reason that could be adduced for this is that, workers will be exposed to more experience in their field of work, to the latest available tools and equipment, better construction techniques/methods, which makes them become experts in their field and hence production will be faster and with higher quality. This will have a resultant effect on their cadre, as they will receive promotion. Increase in salary is the second most preferred motivating factor, which comes naturally. They will be able to send their children to good schools, feed well and have a sense of belonging in the society. The least preferred motivating factor is telephone services, followed by responsibility. This is because it is not a financial gain (Table 5). Presentation and Analysis of Data from Questionnaire Type 11 (For Operatives) Most (51.22%) operatives indicated that salaries paid them is a little below NJIC agreement. This makes workers not to work well as they feel cheated and thereby it affects productivity negatively (Table 6). The two groups agree that salaries paid workers are slightly below NJIC agreement. Most of the operatives (26.4%) have a view that promotion is given to those who have people to influence it for them. While 26.2% hold the opinion that promotion is based on performance, and another 26.2% opine that promotion is rarely done (Table 7). An increase in salary of workers makes them committed to hard work for high productivity. It is the first among all the factors ranked. Following this is promotion, which if regular keeps the workers focused on their job, due to the evaluation report that shall be made at the end of year and later compiled for use as promotion guide. Next to this is overtime, which increases the take home pay of the workers at the end of the month, and makes them to work harder. The least factors that could induce the workers to working hard are telephone services, responsibility and the work itself. The reason could be that they do not have financial reward to the operatives directly (Table 8). A comparison of the questionnaires shows that both groups agree that the salary paid to labourers is slightly lower than the NJIC recommendation. This is likely to affect the labourers’ productivity and may be one of the reasons that delay in delivery of projects is experienced on majority of projects. There is a difference of opinion on the policy of organizations on the promotion of operatives. While the management claims that it is done very regularly and fair, the operatives believe it is rarely done and if done at all it is for those who have godfathers. The most motivating factors according to the management are overtime pay, health care services and provision of transportation in this order, whereas the operatives opine that these are increase in salary, promotion and overtime pay. RECOMMENDATIONS The following recommendations are hereby made based on the analysis of data from the field and conclusion reached. 1.  Companies are requested to adjust their salary structure to reflect the NJIC recommendation; this will enhance the performance of workers. 2.  Management should be concerned with the welfare of the workers and their families. This will give the workers a sense of belonging and being appreciated will make them to be focused and completely committed to their work. 3.  Increase in salary; promotion, overtime and holiday with pay should be used as motivators for increase in performance of construction workers. 4.  Promotion should be done regularly and should be based on performance of workers. CONCLUSION The paper discusses the impact of motivation on the productivity of workers in the Nigerian construction industry. Since motivation is an inducement for higher output it should be accorded a right of place by employers of labour for the construction industry to achieve higher productivity, which will lead to greater contribution to the nation’s Gross Domestic Output. REFERENCES Akindele, O A (2003) Craftsmen and Labour Productivity in the Swaziland Construction Industry. CIDB 1st Postgraduate Conference, University of Withwatersrand, Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Arditi, D and Mokhtar, K (2000) Trends in Productivity Improvement in the US Construction Industry. Construction Management and Economics, 18(2), 15-27 Cole G A (1997) Personal management, 1st Edition Ashford Colour Press. Eldin, N N and Egger, S (1990) Productivity improvement tools, Journal of Construction Engineering and Management 116(1), 100-110. Flippo, E B (1982) Personnel Management, 5th Edition, McGraw hill Inc. London Heap, A (1987) Improving Site Productivity in the Construction Industry. International Labour Office, Geneva Plunkett, W.R and Attner, R.F (1999) Introduction to Management 5th Edition, International Thomson Publishing, California. pp. 43-47, 394-407. Pigors P J W (1981) Personnel Administration: A point of view and method. 9th Edition, McGraw-Hill International Auckland Maslow, A H (1954): Motivation and Personality, Harper and Row, New York Mee-Edoiye, M and Andawei M.M (2002): Motivation, An Alternative to improve workers performance in Today Construction Industry. The Quantity Surveyor. 40(3), 2-6. Cole, G. A. (1999) Management: theory and practice. 5ed. Asford Colour Press, Gosport: Great Britain, 33–76 Robert, L. Trewatha and M. Gene Neuport (1995) Management. 3ed. Business Publication Inc. 359–367. Williams A. McEachern (1997) Economics. A Contemporary Introduction. 4ed. Southwestern College Publishing, Cincinnati, Ohio. pp. 111. Siegel, S. and Castellan, N. J. (1988). Non-parmetric statistics for the behavioural science. McGraw-hill Book Co., Singapore.

Left Sided Spastic Hemiplegia | Case Study

Left Sided Spastic Hemiplegia | Case Study Intervention Analysis Background Jane Walters is a five year old girl and has a diagnosis of left sided spastic hemiplegia, a form of Cerebral Palsy. Jane has two older sisters who attend horse riding lessons at their local stables. Jane has recently expressed an interest in joining them to her parents. However her parents are worried that because of her diagnosis she will not be able to keep up with her siblings. Jane is very aware of her condition, and has recently lost confidence, asking her parents why she is different from other children her age. Diagnosis Cerebral Palsy (CP) refers to non-progressive conditions characterised by impaired voluntary movement or posture, and resulting from prenatal developmental malformations or postnatal CNS damage (Reed, 2013, pp. 38-47). According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (2008), it is highly likely that a child with CP will have other medical disorders such as; cognitive impairments, seizures, delayed growth and development. Spastic syndromes such as Jane’s occur in more than 70 percent of CP cases. Spastic hemiplegia is a type of CP that typically affects the body down one side. The spasticity creates a state of resistance against any range of motion; this resistance ultimately increases with increasing speed of that movement (Reed, 2013, pp. 38-47). Children like Jane with spastic hemiplegia will generally walk later than other children and will tend to walk on their tiptoes because often they will suffer from high heel tendons. Often the arm and leg on the child’s affected side are shorter and thinner (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke 2008). Impact of Right Hemisphere Brain Damage- Jane has left sided spastic hemiplegia, indicating that damage to the brain has occurred in the right hemisphere. The primary cause of CP is damage to white matter of the brain this is often caused by abnormal brain development. This can be caused by a bleed on the brain, or by a lack of oxygen to the brain, generally caused by a difficult birth (NINDS 2008). It was important to consider additional complications related to right sided brain damage to ensure an awareness of Jane’s level of functional ability be it; physically, cognitively or behaviourally. Those that may relate to Jane’s case are listed below in table one. Table one: How damage to the Right Hemisphere can affect function and the occupation of horse riding. Jane’s diagnosis would mean that she would need input from a Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT). Given her age this would come from a community paediatric teams (CPT). The team will work closely with the children’s’ team in social services and primary care. The team will provide a range of assessments and interventions to young people and their families. In Jane’s MDT team there will be a range of different members such as: Physiotherapists, Paediatricians, Occupational Therapists, Social Workers, Speech and Language Therapists and Educational Psychologists (NHS 2012). According to the Disability Act Jane is entitled to an independent assessment of her individual needs. The act is designed to promote the participation of people with disabilities in society by supporting the provision of disability specific services (NCSE 2011). A standardised interview was used, this was to allow the OT staff to observe how Jane and her family interact with each other making it easier to; obtain information, identify strengths needs and goals as well as generate an intervention plan and enable goal scaling Due to Jane’s condition she would have already been known to social services and the MDT, as she had already received physiotherapy to aid with muscle stiffness and improve core strength. Therefore upon the OT department accepting Jane’s referral, an initial assessment was carried out in her home environment with mother and father present (An and Palisano 2013). Collaboration between professional ataff and Jane’s family is a vital component in family-centred services, this is considered best practice in early intervention and paediatric rehabilitation (An and Palisano 2013). Collaboration between the two parties is essential for setting meaningful and achievable goals for a child. Planning and implementing interventions must be able to fit within the context of family life. (An and Palisano 2013) The following strengths and weaknesses were identified during the initial assessment. Table two: Jane’s strengths and limitations During the initial assessment Jane’s mother expressed concerns about her core strength and whether this would affect Jane’s ability to ride. In order to address these concerns a Sitting Assessment for Children with Neuromotor Dysfunction (SACND) assessment was completed this is a clinical instrument to assess static and dynamic postural control in sitting in children with neuromotor dysfunction’ (Reid 1995) This standardised assessment was used to ascertain how Jane’s CP affects her ability to sit comfortably and concentrate. This skill will be essential if Jane wants to be able to sit upon a horse comfortably and be able to concentrate for the entire session. The SACND measures quality of independent sitting ability across four areas: proximal stability, postural tone, postural alignment, and balance (Knox 2002). The assessment revealed that Jane has weak upper trunk control and so will be issued a specially adapted chair which will enable her to sit more comfortably and for longer periods of time compared to standard chair. After both assessments were completed an intervention plan was made with input from Jane, her family and the occupational therapist. Jane identified her long term goal of horse riding and to achieve this long term goal, four short term aims were set to serve as recovery milestones (Duncan 2011). Table three: Jane’s long term aim and short term goals. Occupational therapists are not required to use a specific functional outcome assessment tool in the selection of their assessments. When a professional is selecting an assessment, they must rely on their clinical and professional judgment (Asher 2007). Therapists need to reflect on what it is that they intend to achieve with the assessment, and if this is managed the assessment can be classed as a success. One way of evaluating an assessment is to look at the performance of patients on an individual assessment task (Steultjens 2005). And will be able to question how well did the assessment relate to the goal setting and objectives for the patient (Duncan 2011). As part of the Model of Human Occupation horse riding will play a central part in Jane’s habituation. Not only will this establish a routine, it can be something that Jane can take pride in (Kielhofner and Forsyth 2011). Riding will help Jane build upon her self-confidence, having that natural trusting relationship with a horse that shows no judgment and does not understand that she is different (Horseback UK). The major concern that Jane’s mother presents is the worry that she will not be able to keep up with the physical requirements of riding and that this will dishearten Jane’s enthusiasm. This concern will be tackled in goal number four. Once Jane and her family have a better understanding of hemiplegic cerebral palsy, the OT can begin discussing, through the use of pictures how this may affect her. If Jane has a basic understanding of her condition it will be easier for her to set more realistic goals with the OT as she will have a greater awareness of what she is able to do and may struggle with. This will reduced the likelihood becoming distressed when trying to achieve goals her agreed goals, this will hopefully reduce mum’s concerns about the intervention plan. Jane feels her parents do not allow her to do as much as she would like to be able to do for fear of hurting herself or become too tired. The OT decided to make to make Jane aware of what fatigue is and may feel like. This would hopefully encourage Jane to let her mum or dad know when she is feeling tired. With this information Jane’s parents can keep a fatigue diary with Ellie. This will provide the OT with some information regarding when Jane feels most tired and how this impacts on her occupations. This can then be discussed with Jane’s parents and the RDA and suitable arrangements can be made regarding fatigue management as to when would be the most appreciate time for Jane to have her riding lesson when she has the most energy. Once a pattern of fatigue can be established the OT staff will develop strategies to manage Jane’s fatigue. For example Jane should engage in an activity that she finds relaxing such as reading, colouring or watching television. This can be done after more strenuous activity or in the morning if Jane is known to have a busy afternoon full of physical activities such as a riding lesson. If Jane is able to vary her day with relaxing and more strenuous activities, she will be able to conserve energy for the more strenuous activity of riding and therefore last the full hour lesson. This form of intervention uses the Compensatory Approach. The principle behind this approach is adapting to and compensating for a dysfunction rather than just treating the cause of the problem. Which in this is Jane’s cerebral palsy and her left sided weakness there is more of an emphasis on treating the symptoms (Feaver and Edmans 2006). Additionally, the Compensatory Approach may allow Jane to be able to regain a degree of her independence by compensating where the main cause cannot be treated. In Jane’s case this is managing and compensating on her weakness and fatigue, and therefore allowing her to conserve energy in order to complete a riding lesson (Addy 2006). The social approach recognises Jane as a social being who is easily influenced by the people around her. Therefore by using Jane’s whole family in her therapy and fatigue management, the professionals are integrating Jane’s social environment into her therapy (Polglase and Treseder 2012). Both interventions also reveal the perception of Jane by her social circle, thereby mitigating Jane’s fear about her social circle (Polglase and Treseder 2012). Jane has always said that Jane feels her parents do not allow her to do as much as she would like to be able to do for fear of hurting herself or become too tired. The treatment will require Jane to trust her parents and tell them when she is tired instead of retreating from her social circle (Martin 1998). In order to determine if Jane’s intervention has been a success we first evaluate it. Evaluation a professionals practice is one of the most important elements in occupational therapy; without it, the value of their intervention diminishes (Lawcett 2007). Evaluation is important as in theory it enables the OT and the client to see if intervention is affective. However it is vital that the client is willing to be part of the evaluation process, because if they are not this could present an incorrect evaluation of effectiveness of treatment (Lawcett 2007). There are four main was a professional can evaluate their intervention process these are; Using up to date outcome measures. Using valid and reliable evidence based outcome measures. Evaluate from view point of the service user Evaluate throughout therapy process, at end of intervention (Lawcett 2007). The success of Jane’s intervention plans can be evaluated by the ‘Goal Attainment Scale’(GAS) (King’s College London [no date]). The GAS is a measurement technique which consist of individualising a person’s outcome indicators (Turner-Stokes 2009). In order to evaluate the intervention the professional must first construct a list of thorough and complete outcome measures, which will then be given a numerical value to determine the success of the intervention (Kiresuk and Sherman 1968; Purkiss et al. 2013). Jane’s goals were based on a realistic forecast of her progress (May-Benson 2012) Jane’s performance was scaled into five levels, these reflected her actual performance in comparison to her expected outcomes (Kiresuk et al. 1994). Table four: Example of GAS goals used from Jane’s second RDA lesson. A score like this was recorded for each weekly session over the course of a month and a total was tallied at the end, scoring the intervention with a numerical value. The professional knew it would be vital to give Jane and her control in her treatment in order to motivate an improvement (Turner-Stokes 2009), hence it was decided that the GAS goals would be discussed at the end of the session, showing a level of improvement (King et al. 1999) instead of recording it as s pass, fail assessment (Turner-Stokes 2009).

Free Essay on Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide - Mother Teresa :: Euthanasia Physician Assisted Suicide

Mother Teresa's Little Sisters and Euthanasia In this essay we see Mother Teresa of Calcutta's Little Sisters of the Poor responding to the Europena Parliament's pro-euthanasia measure. In their response is found an insight into death which the Western world lacks. The Little Sisters are knowledgeable from personal experience with the many whom they have seen die. They are also firmly rooted in a strong religious tradition. Both of these considerations make their advice the very best one can hear in the euthanasia debate. "How can the Little Sisters of the Poor, in the service of the elderly, not be concerned about the passing of the principle of euthanasia by a Commission in the European Parliament? We feel that the confusion caused by the text pertaining to the use of extraordinary means to prolong life, palliative care and euthanasia can easily mislead an uninformed public. Yet behind these extremely complicated phrases, the thought is clear: to give doctors the right to satisfy the request for euthanasia, that is to say, to take a person's life. Human dignity does not consist in being able to choose the time of one's death, but in being aware of the fact that one's basic right is the right of respect for life, of respect for human dignity"(Little) The Little Sisters have 150 years of experience in accompanying the elderly up until the end of their lives, and by this experience they are authorized to make known to the public what they have seen and learned. Since their foundation, 17,080 Little Sisters have lived with the dying, and today they are in 30 countries on six continents, with 74 homes in France and Belgium, First World nations. So the dear sisters have expertise with the dying of both the Third World and our world. Making the elderly happy, that is what counts!" Mother Teresa used to say, encouraging the Little Sisters to attain this goal by employing means adapted to each person, to his/her possibilities, tastes, past life, health, etc. Making the elderly happy means believing in the value of their life, and the Little Sisters are witnesses of the extraordinary resources of the elderly. Having a center of interest, doing something they like to do, feeling useful, being able to take initiatives, to communicate, to form friendships, maintaining a facilitated relationship with the family, having contacts with youth: these are factors which provide joy and happiness.

Quote Analysis from Shakespeares Hamlet :: essays research papers

Hamlet, a play written by the prominent writer, Shakespeare, is about a Danish prince whose father was murdered by his uncle who then married his mother. The story follows Hamlet for a time period of a few months while he decides how to deal with the situation of his uncle and mother. An important rising conflict is Hamlet?s soliloquy during act III scene I, where he finally realizes the significance of his actions towards his uncle, Claudius. Fortinbras? prompt rebuttal against Denmark for his father?s murder intrigued Hamlet and made him examine the emphasis needed to be placed on the death of his own father. Throughout the soliloquy, Hamlet mentions many thoughts surrounding this dilemma and shows a deeper, more will-powered side of himself. ?To be or not to be- that is the question, although this quote is only a mere ten words, its value is innumerable. Hamlet is contemplating life and death, not only for himself, but also for Claudius. He is considering committing suicide with all the pressures placed on him by his father?s ghost and his conscience knowing the truth regarding his predecessor?s murder. Hamlet is questioning whether or not it is better to live everyday waking up and seeing his step-father who had once been known solely as his uncle, and acknowledging the crime committed. Or is it more beneficial to simply to concede defeat and kill himself, relinquishing himself from performing the very deadly sin he condemns Claudius for doing. Hamlet then moves on to discuss death and metaphorically relates it to an endless sleep that ends all heartache. The thought of eternally sleeping seemed appealing for him, but then he continues to analyze it, and determines there must be a reason people live miserable lives. Simply put, humanity is afraid of death, but if it is merely a long nap, what is there to fear? Therefore, Hamlet decides that the dreams experienced after death is worse than those wretched lives. This thought may have given him new look on life, or he could have just possibly realized that he was the only person left to defend his father?s honor, but later in the story, Hamlet has a sudden change of heart and resolves that he will kill Claudius no matter the obstacles in his path. Quote Analysis from Shakespeare's Hamlet :: essays research papers Hamlet, a play written by the prominent writer, Shakespeare, is about a Danish prince whose father was murdered by his uncle who then married his mother. The story follows Hamlet for a time period of a few months while he decides how to deal with the situation of his uncle and mother. An important rising conflict is Hamlet?s soliloquy during act III scene I, where he finally realizes the significance of his actions towards his uncle, Claudius. Fortinbras? prompt rebuttal against Denmark for his father?s murder intrigued Hamlet and made him examine the emphasis needed to be placed on the death of his own father. Throughout the soliloquy, Hamlet mentions many thoughts surrounding this dilemma and shows a deeper, more will-powered side of himself. ?To be or not to be- that is the question, although this quote is only a mere ten words, its value is innumerable. Hamlet is contemplating life and death, not only for himself, but also for Claudius. He is considering committing suicide with all the pressures placed on him by his father?s ghost and his conscience knowing the truth regarding his predecessor?s murder. Hamlet is questioning whether or not it is better to live everyday waking up and seeing his step-father who had once been known solely as his uncle, and acknowledging the crime committed. Or is it more beneficial to simply to concede defeat and kill himself, relinquishing himself from performing the very deadly sin he condemns Claudius for doing. Hamlet then moves on to discuss death and metaphorically relates it to an endless sleep that ends all heartache. The thought of eternally sleeping seemed appealing for him, but then he continues to analyze it, and determines there must be a reason people live miserable lives. Simply put, humanity is afraid of death, but if it is merely a long nap, what is there to fear? Therefore, Hamlet decides that the dreams experienced after death is worse than those wretched lives. This thought may have given him new look on life, or he could have just possibly realized that he was the only person left to defend his father?s honor, but later in the story, Hamlet has a sudden change of heart and resolves that he will kill Claudius no matter the obstacles in his path.

Athletics and the Effect on Academics Essay

The purpose of this research proposal is to determine if extracurricular activities such as sports has a positive or negative affect on junior high student’s academic achievement. I will discuss past research that has been conducted and their results as well articles written on the topic. I will also discuss my research method and how it will be implemented in order to see how previous research compares to my school. This research will be conducted with students in the 6th through the 8th grade. As a teacher and a coach I have wondered if there is any correlation between students academic success while they were part of a sports program. I know that as a former student-athlete in junior high and high school I was motivated to maintain a certain grade level in order to participate in any type of sport. I recently attended my son’s parent meeting for his freshman basketball team and learned that according to IHSA rules a student can fail two classes and still participate in their sport. That is a topic of discussion for another time but it did spark my curiosity to see if my students at the junior high level worked harder to stay eligible during their sport season and not so hard during their off –season. It should be stated that at my school a student has to maintain a 70% to participate and this is checked on a weekly basis. It would seem that ever since sports has become part of our schools environment there has been a debate about the effects of athletic participation on academic achievement. I believe now more than ever it has become a more relevant issue because of the budget restraints in our country’s schools. The school boards often find it easy to cut athletic programs because they do not see the value it has in the academic arena. It is important for our administrators to know these effects of athletics on academics before they would decide to cut or retain these athletic programs. This particular research proposal would focus on junior high students that are both male and female at J. W. Eater in Rantoul Illinois. Our demographics are about evenly split between both Caucasian and African American students, the African American student being slight higher, with a smaller percent of Hispanics. It should also be noted that there are a high number, close to 80%, of these students whose families fall below the poverty line; therefore there is a high number of kids that are on the free or reduced lunch plan. In addition to the research that will be conducted at Eater Junior High there will also be some information from other articles and studies that have been done in research journals. I feel these articles and studies will provide a clearer picture as to the positive effect of athletic participation and academic achievement. I found an article that supports the theory that athletic participation can help at-risk students and other students who have academic problems. Since we have several at-risk students because of our demographics in Rantoul this article seem to relate. In this article it states that educators believe that athletic participation reduces the chance of school dropout by approximately forty percent. It argues that extracurricular participation decreases this chance because it gives those at-risk students a chance to create positive connections to the school system. Involvement in these activities was perceived by educators to support these at-risk students by maintaining, enhancing and strengthening the student to school connection (Holloway, J. H. 2000). Although we don’t have the dropout problem as say our high school, athletics is a connection to the next level of education and can provide motivation to stay in school. A research article I found that involves using a questionnaire, as I intend to use with my research proposal, measures academic achievement between athletes and non-athletes on the 8th grade level (Stegman, M. & Stephens, L. 2000). Both the athletes and the non-athletes were invited to participate and each was provided with a questionnaire. Both groups also gave the researchers permission to view their academic scores. They found that the results showed the students who participated in sports had the higher academic scores versus those who chose not to participate in sports. Although the sample size wasn’t that large the results tend to lean in favor of athletics enforcing academics. Another case I found was interesting in that it examined over 25,000 students along with their teachers and parents (Jordan, W. 1999). The research’s author, Will Jordan, shows how the results point out that African American students have a higher rate of academic achievement as a whole when they are in involved in extracurricular activities such as sports. The only draw back to this research is that it only involves African Americans, however Mr.  Jordon does note that previous research did show similar results for other races that were researched. The majority of its data is received from the National Educational Longitudinal Study, and this is used to measure the data against a system that is already in place to decide how effective extracurricular activities are to a student’s academic success. Another case that was conducted by Thomas Herbert centers on the study of 8 different student athletes that had been identified as gifted in junior high for 120 days (Herbert, T. 1995). As my own son was in the gifted program this was also an interesting study. By observing and using questionnaires, and looking at their academic scores, the conclusion Mr. Herbert came to was that they all had a strong academic record along with positive self-esteem. Mr. Herbert’s rationale is that they gained these positive attributes through their involvement in playing competitive sports. Just like in Mr. Jordon’s research, Mr. Herbert’s research also had limitations. In this case these students were from the inner city, therefore it would not be an accurate example of society as a whole or in comparison to J.  W. Eater. These are three research cases that weigh in favor of athletics helping promote academics. However in order to be able to conduct a research proposal that is fair you have to look at both sides and there are some articles that shows some negative correlations between academics and sports. One such article was written by Mr. Glenn Cook that is based on his prior experiences working with student athletes. Mr. Cook suggests that today’s society has placed more emphasis on athletics than they do academics (Cook, G. 2003). He feels because of this shift, students are not having the academic success they would otherwise had if athletics wasn’t involved. He feel that the students are not being pushed to achieve the most from their academics because they are being given a â€Å"pass† so to speak because of the time involved with their particular sport. A Mr. William Bainbridge writes a similar article taking the stance that athletics is hindering the academic part of school (Bainbridge, W. 2004). His point of view is that the culture is so enamored with the likes of athletes such as Kobe Bryant or Dwight Howard who skip college and go straight to the NBA. He feels this is a deterrent for the kid who wants to go to college and graduate. Although I see the points in both Mr. Cook and Mr. Bainbridge opinions, they are just that, an opinion. An actual research article that helps support their opinion was conducted by Ms. Leah Bucknavage and a Mr. Frank Worrell where their research shows a negative correlation between athletics and academics (Bucknavage, L. & Worrell, F. 2005). The research indicated that some students who participated in an intramural sport actually showed a decline in academic achievement. It should be noted that a limitation to this research is that it is based on an intramural sport as opposed to a regular sports team that requires tryouts in order to make the team and participate which requires more time and commitment. Within the majority of research I found supporting the positive effects between athletics and academics, it could easily be argued that athletics helps promote academic achievement in students. Through my research proposal I would hope to find that my results held with the status quo. In my research proposal I will be using student questionnaires as this seems to a popular method used by other researcher into this topic. I would also be looking at the student’s grades in all subject areas pre and post their participation in their sport, along with their ISAT scores from when the started participating as early as the 6th grade through their 8th grade career. I would want to see, at the minimum, that their grades were passing and consistent over this period of time. I plan on looking at J. W. Eater junior high on a grade-by-grade level. The esearch will be done in the form of questionnaires for each grade that the students will have to fill out themselves. The survey instrument used in this research will be designed to determine whether or not the activities that junior high students choose have an effect on their academic achievement and will be based on a four point Likert-scale, with 1 meaning â€Å"I agree;† 2 meaning â€Å"I somewhat agree;† 3 meaning â€Å"I somewhat disagree;† and 4 meaning, â€Å"I disagree;†. A personal data sheet that also request demographic data will be included along with the survey. These demographic answers will be reported in percentages and charts. The questions in the non-demographic part of the survey will generally be about their attitudes towards school and learning in general. They will also be asked if they currently play, have played or plan on playing a sport in junior high. The questionnaire will see if there is a correlation between participating in athletics and their expectation of themselves. Because the questionnaire will have both convergent and divergent questions I will be able to get a better result as to the correlation of athletic participation and the self-expectations. Their current grades and ISAT scores will also be recorded. The goal is to compare the scores, both pre and post, and questionnaire results with those of the non-extracurricular participant and see if the data supports the hypothesis that athletics promotes academics. As a potential future administrator this is information that I would like to have access to in my potential school in order to determine the value of sports or extracurricular activities. Although I feel there is a positive correlation between sports and academics, I have to put the educational part of school first and foremost. If I were to see that the academic part of my students schooling is being affected by extracurricular activities then I would have to make adjustment to those activities. This could be done in cutting an activity altogether or creating other opportunities to help the student-athlete be successful. I think this project has reinforced my belief that if set up properly within the school environment, then there is a positive correlation between extracurricular activities and academics. I think its up to each administrator to do what is in the best interest for his or her school and students.

Hill Country Case Solution Essay

Hill County operates in a very competitive market where new potential entrants can be a threat to its operation either through lower price offering or lower production cost. Competition from peer companies has significant effect on its operation, because Hill County is price taker in the market, that is, increase in prices is not one of the choices it can implement. Also, due to the fact that its profitability relies heavily on cost management, an intense competition can worsen the situation of Hill County in the future. Hence, the company needs to be very efficient in order to compete with other low-cost production firms. In addition, cost management may also link to the bargaining power of Hill County over its suppliers, which plays an important role in the manufacturing cost of the firm. Whenever their suppliers have more bargaining power, Hill County would face a potential decline in its profit margin. Macroeconomics conditions also contribute to the business risk of Hill County. During an economic downturn, consumers are less likely to spend money on snacks or attend venues, where they would normally purchase snacks. This would result in declining sales. Hill County does not seem to offer as much diversification in their line of production needed, in order to diversify their exposure to macroeconomic contractions away. The change of consumer behaviour is another business risk faced by Hill County. Recent surveys have shown that, consumers tend to become more aware of Health food. This indicated that they may turn away from less healthy snacks to other choices such as organic food. Selling snacks through school systems also requires the company to alter its products. Therefore, Hill County has to conduct researches and develop alternative choices in response to such preferences and requirements, which leads to an increase of cost. 1.2 How much financial risk would the company face at each of the three alternative debt-to-capital ratios presented in Exhibit 4? The following table compare the potential financial risk faced by the company under each of the debt-to-equity ratio alternative. In general, the higher the leverage ratio is, the higher the risk level will be. Item 20 % Debt to Capital 40% Debt to Capital 60% Debt to Capital The company has the same tax level across each scenario, and thus there is no difference in the relative advantage of An increase in the debt level is leading to higher The highest tax shield advantage in Tax Shield tax shield. However, in absolute terms, an increase in the tax shield benefits absolute terms to the company debt-to-capital ratio will enhance the tax shield benefit The bond rating is AAA/AA, indicating that the default risk is rather low. In terms of financing cost, comparing with the corporate bonds with same rating that pays at rates from 2.5% to 3.2%, the interest rate 2.58% is considerably acceptable. Higher debt levels are leading to higher financial distress costs for the company. However, 20% is still below the industry’s average and appears as a considerable level in order to benefit from advantages that debt provides. The rating of the bond would fall to BBB indicating that the credit risk increases higher debt levels. Although the credit increasing thi s is still in line with the average. According to Exhibit 3 the bond This is rating drops to B. This seems rather due to high and risky and would raise the risk is concern of the management and market especially the equity holders, which are described as risk averse. Too much debt-to-capital ratio can cause severe financial distress cost to the company (details to be discussed in section 3). The 4.52 ICR indicates that the debt level is rather risky, as a significant amount of the cash flow generated by the company would be tightened up by a higher repurchase premium and a higher risk premium. Credit Risk Financial Distress Cost Higher financial distress cost as the company is entitled to debt obligation where debt holders have the ability to file bankruptcy toward the company. An ICR 11.82 is in line with the industry average and much higher than the bonds with the similar rating (4.1). But as the amount of stock being repurchased rises, the premium required would also increase, resulting in more cash outflow. In terms of financial flexibility, a relatively high interest coverage ratio (ICR) of 36.8 supports the company’s ability to Flexibility take on more debt. Especially by comparing the ratio with its peers, such ratio seems to match with its risk aversion philosophy. Agency Cost of Debt Increase in debt-to-capital ratio can cause agency cost of Agency cost of debt will be more problematic This level will involve highest agency debt to be higher. However, at level of 20%, it is still because the managers are not left with freedom cost of debt. considerably low. to operate the company. Agency Cost of Equity Adding more debt into capital structure will reduce agency As more debts are added, agency cost of debt cost of equity as managers are left with less free cash flow Lowest agency cost of equity. would be further reduced. that could have been exploited for perk consumption. Since part of the earnings is paid to meet the debt repayments, dividends paid deceases comparing with actual 2011. But this is counter-balanced by increased earnings per share (EPS) as the shares outstanding is reduced Comparing with 20% leverage, dividend continues to decrease but EPS goes up on the scale of EPS in actual 2011, which is favourable for valuation and is in the interest of shareholders. Dividend Policy Dividend paid and EPS decline at the same time, which would lead to a lower valuation of the firm. 1.3 How much value could Hill County create for its shareholders at each of the three alternative debt levels? In order to answer the question we use the change in return of equity (ROE) as an appropriate measure. For the sake of simplicity we used the book value of equity rather than market values. According to Exhibit 4 and 5, the profit margin, total capital and tax rate remain unchanged over the forecasting period. Judging from the table below, the ROE increases when the leverage ratio rises. This is indicating that the more aggressive the capital structure is, the more the extent to which the value is maximized. However, we should take into account the benefit and risk involved when deciding which capital structure is optimal. Alternative 20 % Debt to Capital By implementing 20% of debt into the capital structure the company is able to increase the ROE by over 30% to 16.31%. 40% Debt to Capital An increase to 40% debt to capital is leading to an increase of over 60% in the ROE t o 20.52%, which is a positive indicator of increased shareholder value. 60% Debt to Capital ROE In the third alternative the ROE can be more than doubled to a ROE of 27.64%. 2. What debt-to-capital structure would you recommend as optimal for Hill County? What are the advantages of adding debt to the capital structure? How would issuing debt impact the company’s taxes and expected costs of financial distress? How would the financial markets react if the company increased its financial leverage? In order to determine the optimal capital structure for Hill County Snack, we examined the debt-to-equity ratios for A-rated companies within the food and beverages industry. Based on figure 15.13 in Financial Theory and Corporate Policy by Copeland, we see that the median is 65% debt-to-equity, which in debt-to-capital term equals 40%. We can also see from the figure that none of the firms within the industry operates with zero debt-level, and this gives us an indication that the firm is likely to gain firm value by introducing debt to its capital structure, mainly due to the tax shield of debt. Referring to Modigliani-Miller proposition I (MM I) with taxe s, we know that the value of levered firm is equal to value of unlevered firm plus Figur 15.13 tax shield of debt. Also, according to Tread-off Theory, the firm will increase its value by adding debt up to the level where the marginal cost of financial distress is equal to the marginal gain from the tax shield. We used the ICR to evaluate the likelihood of financial distress when the firm introduces debt to the company. The financial market is likely to have a positive reaction if the company increased its financial leverage, since it will increase firm value and ROE, making the company more attractive to investors and other stakeholders. To what extent the stock price will appreciate depends on the market expectations of how the firm will cope with its debt obligations. From Exhibit 4 we see that the firm can easily adopt the 20 % debt-to-capital ratio, having a very high ICR of 36.90 which implies very low probability of financial distress as well as it will be in shareholders’ interest since it increases ROE from 12.5% to 16.31% without adding much risk and reduces f ree cash flow and agency cost of equity. Having a closer look on the next scenario where the company is tested with a 40% debt-tocapital ratio, we can see that ROE increases from 12.5% to 20.5%. With this capital structure, the firm operates with the same level as the industry median of its competitors. Implied by Pecking Order Theory, since this is the median, it might indicate that this is somehow the optimal debt structure for this type of industry. The firm will still be very liquid with a relative low probability of financial distress based on the high ICR of 11.82. Finally, we have to consider the 60% debt-to-capital ratio, which results in an ICR of 4.52. This ratio is, just above the median for BBB rated companies by Standard & Poor’s (Exhibit 3). Although the ROE increases form 12.5% to 26.2%, it introduces a significant amount of risk to the company and the firm would be much more sensitive to macroeconomic conditions and fluctuations in revenue. Based on the three alternatives, we believe that the optimal debt-tocapital structure is around 40%. This is because the company will have a significant benefit from the tax shield of debt and it will cause a large increase in ROE for the shareholders such that they are able to compensat for the increase in risk, reduc agency cost of equity and still be very liquid to fulfil their debt obligation, by having a very high ICR of 11.82, which is  even above the median for A-rated companies. The reason we chose this alternative instead of 20% is because we believe that the company can increase its firm value even more with this alternative, without adding a significant amount of risk. Also, if the company were to introduce 60% debt-to-capital, we think this is a too aggressive approach for the company that is new to debt in its capital structure. 3. How could Hill County implement a more aggressive capital structure? What methods could be used to increase debt and decrease equity? A more aggressive capital structure would in general mean that the company is increasing the leverage ratio by either increasing the debt or reducing the equity or both. The main two reasons why companies look to reduce the share capital and make capital distributions to shareholders (i.e. return cash surplus to shareholders in excess of the immediate requirements of the company) are: a) enhancing shareholders’ value though an improved ROE; and b)to achieve a more efficient capital structure. The following are possible approaches that Hill County can undertake to adopt a more aggressive capital structure. 1) Implement Debt Financing Debt financing refers to any borrowed money which Hill County would have to pay back to the lending institution. It can come in the form of a loan, line of credit, bond, etc. We would highly recommend Hill County to seek capital by issuing bonds rather than having bank loans. In our view, Hill County can benefit more from bonds issued than from a bank loan. The interest rate and other terms of bank loans are set by the bank, whereas when issuing bond, it can actively set the interest rate and schedule the payments based on the current market conditions. Even though it would be its first issue of bonds, we see the risk involved and cost incurred rather minor, due to the relative strong financial reports of the company, assuming the market is efficient. Although most companies, including Hill County, can borrow from banks, they view direct borrowing from a bank as more restrictive and expensive than selling debt to the open market. In order to maintain the degree of flexibility that is offered by all equity financing, the CEO would try to avoid any restrictions that come with debt financing. Most bank loans come with multiple conditions, or covenants, that the borrower must follow for the life of the loan. Bank loan covenants protect the bank (and in effect  bank loan fund investors) but impose restrictions on the borrower. As the advantages outweigh the disadvantages we recommend Hill County to seek for bond financing rather than a bank loan. 2) Reduction of Equity Alongside the debt financing via bonds, we suggest that Hill County should reduce their share capital.. A reduction of equity is used to increase distributable reserves to make dividend payments possible, or to make a large return of capital more efficient. There are a number of possible mechanisms, including: A share buyback, where Hill County buys its own shares back in the market. These shares are usually then cancelled. Companies do sometimes retain bought-back shares as treasury shares in order to be able to re-sell them, or allocate them to fulfil share options or to otherwise avoid issuing new shares. In the case of Hill County, we would advise them to cancel the shares as we are seeking for a possibility to reduce the equity share capital. Another alternative for County Hill is the conversion of share capital and nondistributable reserves into debt capital. This approach has been used by large UK listed companies, and is basically the conversion of share capital into debt. Existing shares are cancelled and replaced with new shares (fewer, or with a lower par value) and bonds, the latter typically redeemable at the option of the holder. This allows shareholders to take the return of capital as a capital gain, and time it to their advantage. One easy solution would be the conversion of non-distributable reserves into distributable reserves, which is followe d by the payment of a special dividend. This, however, would mean that many shareholders would be unable to avoid paying income tax on the special dividend. 3) Hybrid Securities In addition to financing either by debt or by equity, such hybrid securities as convertible bonds can both alter the capital structure and provide the management with flexibility. Within a certain time period or when the share price is low, the convertible bonds would contribute to the total debt amount, which requires fixed and rather low periodic payment. Hence, the leverage ratio would rise. However, as time goes by or when Hill County’s stock price appreciates, these bond holders may convert the bond and thereby such amount would switch into equity. 4) Off Balance Sheet Financing (OBF) Apart from general debt financing we would also consider the implementation of off balance sheet financing. As the  leverage ratio goes up and increase the riskiness of the company, the CEO and share holders may concern such would weaken the strength of balance sheet and periodic performance. But certain OBF methods like leasing and factoring can enhance the cash flow of the firm and substantially build up the leverage without adding to the amount of the debt. 4. Considering Hill County’s corporate culture, what arguments could you use to persuade CEO Keener or his successor to adopt and implement your recommendation? Considering the management focus of Hill County is to maximize shareholders’ wealth, raising the leverage ratio of the firm can help the management to achieve such goal. First of all, using the issued debt to repurchase stock can not only push up the stock price but also bring shareholders tax benefit, which supports equity holders in managing their wealth more efficiently. Also, in line with our previous discussion, introducing debt into the firm’s capital facilitates managers to take up slightly more risky but also more profitable investment opportunities. This is because leverage can reduce the risk that is bore by equity, instead of missing out potentially profitable projects so as to maintain sufficient cash flow. Regarding the company’s strong commitment to efficiency and cost control, issuing debt can provide the company with considerable tax shield as interest payment is tax-deductible. Thus, reducing tax payments can lower expenses and retain more economic benefit within the company. Another advantage is that leverage can lower the weighted average cost of capital since the cost of debt is usually lower than the cost of equity, which contributes to its cost control policy. In such way, Hill County can more efficiently (lower cost of capital) and sufficiently (higher level of retained earnings) finance its daily operations and other investment projects. A third aspect of the Hill County’s corporate culture is caution and risk aversion, meaning that the managers always prefer financial safety and flexibility. Introducing debt into the capital structure of the company can stabilize the cash outflow as the company can schedule whichever principle and interest payment that is suit able to the operating and financing requirements and thereby enable the management to control risk exposure. Also, Hill County can issue debt with embedded options such as callable bonds, enabling the firm to buying back the bonds at a certain  price when debt-financing is unfavourable. Lastly, if the management is still concerned about rising debt levels would lead to weaker financial reports, other capital sources such as off-balance sheet financing can change the capital structure without much dynamic and unfavourable change of the crucial financial ratios, say, debt-to-equity ratio and interest coverage ratio, which have a strong impact onto the evaluation of Hill County’s risk level.

Richman Investments- Acceptable Use Policy

Richman Investments- Acceptable Use Policy Richman Investments is the name for its installation of the Richman Investments software from Jive Software creating a virtual (type of company) community. It is a Web-based virtual community where members collaborate on documents, share insight and best practices and exchange ideas. Registered Users of Richman Investments are encouraged to be open and informal in their use of Richman Investments – one of the benefits of the system is that it attempts to facilitate the kind of candour and informal discussion that traditionally one only finds at in-person meetings.It is generally presumed that Users will conduct themselves in a professional manner; nevertheless, as membership and participation grow, it is important to outline a formal guide for conduct for this new powerful communication tool. Participation in Richman Investments is contingent upon acceptance of this Acceptable Use Policy. This Policy outlines the terms and conditions for use of the Richman Investments Areas covered include who is authorized to use Richman Investments rules for online behaviour, and guidelines for the handling of secure and copyright-protected materials.Richman Investments reserves the right to block or limit access to content deemed to be harmful, offensive, or otherwise in violation of this Acceptable Use Policy. Furthermore, Richman Investments reserves the right to monitor and to disclose any information as deemed necessary to satisfy any law, to operate its services properly, or to protect itself or its Registered Users. Authorized Use The network is provided by Richman Investments for the benefit of Registered Users in accordance with duties as an employee of Richman Investments. Richman Investments may also extend a User ID to individuals with whom it has special working relationship, such as a consultant. User IDs are not transferrable. They are intended for the exclusive use of the individual to whom they are provided. A dditional User IDs are available, upon request, from Richman Investments. The provision of User IDs to individual users is at the discretion of the Richman Investments, on the advice of the Sponsoring Organization. A User ID may be disabled due to a change in employment or committee membership status, upon the request of the Sponsoring Organization or for violation of the Acceptable Terms of Use.Confidentiality Information shared and stored within Richman Investments it is considered to be an extension of the work conducted within the normal day-to-day workings of Richman Investments and Council International. It is subject to the same requirements for confidentiality as association work conducted through email, conference calls or in-person meetings. Copyright Registered Users of Richman Investments agree to abide by all applicable laws on the use of copy written materials.Accordingly, attention should be paid to not post Copyright Protected Material — material for which an organization has not consented to its widespread distribution in channels other than its own. This includes, but is not limited to, the posting of entire media articles, or proprietary research. Items intended for redistribution, such as press releases or promotional materials, may be posted. It also is perfectly acceptable to quote portions of protected material, paraphrase the material and Hyperlink to the material in its original external location.Professional Conduct It is generally presumed that Users will conduct themselves in a professional manner; nevertheless, the following actions constitute unacceptable use of Richman Investments: * Violating any law of, or committing conduct that is tortuous or unlawful in, any applicable jurisdiction. * Displaying, performing, sending, receiving or storing any content that is obscene, pornographic, lewd, lascivious, or excessively violent, regardless of whether the material or its dissemination is unlawful. Advocating or encouraging vio lence against any government, organization, group, individual or property, or providing instruction, information, or assistance in causing or carrying out such violence. * Actively seeking to obtain unauthorized access to any part of Richman Investments network, service, or account or using Richman Investments to obtain unauthorized access to any network, service or account. * Interfering with service to any other Registered User, by use of any program, script, command, or otherwise. Introducing or activating any viruses, worms, harmful code and/or Trojan horses within Richman Investments   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  * Holding Richman Investments, its affiliates, officers, employees up to public scorn or ridicule. * Gambling Definitions (Type of company) Link Community: All content and Registered User information contained within the User ID controlled areas of Richman Investments. Community or Sub-Community: The spaces within which content is organized, usually by subject area (Communities also contain Sub-Communities).Copyright Protected Material: Material protected by applicable copyright laws, and for which an organization has not consented to its widespread distribution through external channels. Hyperlink: Provide a hyperlink to a page or item located elsewhere within Richman Investments on an external Web site. Permissions: The access rights provided to Registered Users to access particular Communities and Sub-Communities Restricted Community or Sub-Community: A Community of Sub-Community for which access is restricted to a pre-defined group of Registered Users.Registered User (Active User, User): An individual with an â€Å"Active† User ID for Richman Investments (User IDs are not deleted from the system. They are either â€Å"Active,† meaning they provide access, or â€Å"Disabled†). User: Presumed to be an Active User unless specifically referred to as a â€Å"Disabled User† User ID: A username and password for Richman Investments (Use r IDs are not deleted from the system. It is either â€Å"Active,† meaning it allows access, or â€Å"Disabled†)

Managing Staff

Management for any healthcare facility has many different roles that they must complete. A health care manager must be able to handle running the daily operations, complete any financial duties, and also manage the employees of the facility. When it comes to keeping the facility properly staffed management must be aware of what is needed. To be sure that the facility is properly staffed, a health care manager should utilize a staffing plan. A staffing plan can show where employees are needed to work any hours that the facility needs.Annualizing is also important because if a facility is to be run twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week will require many staff members because one employee would not be able to fill all of the positions. In understanding any staffing needs for a facility the manager must take into consideration productive and non-productive time. Productive time means the time spent that is actually worked by an employee. Non-productive time would mean any time the e mployee is not at work; whether it is the weekend, a holiday, sick time, vacation time, or a personal day.When it comes to using a staffing plan it is important for the manager to have this information in place because it will help to show what actual hours need to be covered and how many employees it will take to cover those hours. There are two ways to do a staffing plan; they are either done in the annualized method or by the scheduled-position method. In the annualized method the manager would take the non-productive and productive days of each staff person and account for them in the formula that is used to fill the hours.In the scheduled-position method the non-productive and productive days are accounted for when filling a scheduled shift. This is why recording non-productive and productive days in a staffing plan are necessary because all of the hours of each staff member are accounted for. When it comes to the cost for any healthcare facility they can be tied to the staffin g in a variety of ways. In a staffing plan the costs are attributed to the amount of staff that is needed to cover the hours that are needed to run the facility.It also can be attributed to the pay rates of each individual staff member and also the benefits that each staff member is entitled to. This information can be kept in the books which will help in preparing a budget or a staffing plan. If a health care manager did not have access to this information they would not have the correct information that is needed to properly staff and run the facility on a day-to-day basis. A healthcare facility is run by a staff that must provide care to its patients, provide daily care, and handle administrative duties.Without proper staffing a facility cannot be run properly and the quality of care that the patients receive will suffer which in turn can affect the overall reputation of the facility. To ensure that this does not happen, management must have quality staff members and also to make sure that all of the hours are properly covered. Reference Bureau of Labor Statistics. (January 2012). Occupational Outlook Handbook. Retrieved from http://www. bls. gov/oco/ocos014. htm

Profile and Crimes of Teresa Lewis

Profile and Crimes of Teresa Lewis Teresa and Julian Lewis In April 2000, Teresa Bean, 33, met Julian Lewis at Dan River, Inc., where they were both employed. Julian was a widower with three adult children, Jason, Charles and Kathy. He lost his wife to a long and difficult illness in January of that year. Teresa Bean was a divorcee with a 16-year-old daughter named Christie. Two months after they met, Teresa moved in with Julian and they soon married. In December 2001, Julian’s son, Jason Lewis, was killed in an accident. Julian received over $200,000 from a life insurance policy, which he placed in an account that only he could access. A few months later he used the money to purchase five acres of land and a mobile home in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, where he and Teresa began to live. In August 2002, Julian’s son, C.J., an Army reservist, was to report for active duty with the National Guard. In anticipation of his deployment to Iraq, he purchased a life insurance policy in the amount of $250,000 and named his father as the primary beneficiary and Teresa Lewis as the secondary beneficiary. Shallenberger and Fuller In the summer of 2002, Teresa Lewis met Matthew Shallenberger, 22, and Rodney   Fuller, 19, while shopping at WalMart. Immediately after their meeting, Teresa began a sexual relationship with   Shallenberger. She began modeling lingerie for both men and was eventually having sexual intercourse with them both. Shallenberger wanted to be the head of an illegal drug distribution ring, but he needed money to get started. If that failed to work out for him, his next goal was to become a nationally recognized hitman for the Mafia. Fuller, on the other hand, did not talk much about any of his future goals. He seemed content following Shallenberger around. Teresa Lewis introduced her 16-year-old daughter to the men and, while parked at a parking lot, her daughter and Fuller had sexual intercourse in one car, while Lewis and Shallenberger had sexual intercourse in another vehicle. The Murder Plot In late September 2002, Teresa and Shallenberger devised a plan to kill Julian and then share the money that she would get from his estate.   The plan was to force Julian off the road, kill him, and make it look like a robbery. On October 23, 2002, Teresa gave the men $1,200 to purchase the necessary guns and ammunition to carry through their plan. However, before they could kill Julian, a third vehicle was driving too close to Julian’s car for the boys to force him off the road. The three conspirators manufactured a second plan to kill Julian. They also decided they would kill Julian’s son, C.J., when he returned home to attend his fathers funeral. Their reward for this plan would be Teresa’s inheriting and then sharing the two life insurance policies of father and son. When Teresa learned that C.J. was planning on visiting his father and that he staying at the Lewis home on October 29-30, 2002, the plan changed so that father and son could be killed at the same time. The Murder In the early morning hours of October 30, 2002, Shallenberger and Fuller entered the Lewis mobile home through a rear door that Teresa had left unlocked for them. Both men were armed with the shotguns Teresa has purchased for them As they entered the master bedroom, they found Teresa asleep next to Julian. Shallenberger woke her up. After Teresa has moved to the kitchen, Shallenberger shot Julian multiple times. Teresa then returned to the bedroom. As Julian struggled for his life, she grabbed his pants and wallet and returned to the kitchen. While Shallenberger was killing Julian, Fuller went to C.J.’s bedroom and shot him several times. He then joined the other two in the kitchen as they were emptying Julian’s wallet. Concerned that C.J. might still be alive, Fuller took Shallenberger’s shotgun and shot C.J. two more times.   Shallenberger and Fuller then left the home, after picking up some of the shotgun shells and splitting up the $300 found in Julians wallet. For the next 45 minutes, Teresa stayed inside the home and called her ex-mother-in-law, Marie Bean, and her best friend, Debbie Yeatts, but did not call the authorities for help. Call to 9.1.1. Around 3:55 A.M., Lewis called 9.1.1. and reported that a man had broken into her home at approximately 3:15 or 3:30 A.M. He had shot and killed her husband and stepson. She went on to say that the intruder had entered the bedroom where she and her husband were sleeping. He told her to get up. She then followed her husbands instructions to go to the bathroom. Locking herself in the bathroom, she heard four or five shotgun blasts. Sheriff’s deputies arrived at the Lewis home at approximately 4:18 A.M.   Lewis told the deputies that her husband’s body was on the floor in the master bedroom and that her stepson’s body was in the other bedroom. When the officers entered the master bedroom, however, they found Julian severely wounded, but still alive and talking. He was moaning and uttering, â€Å"Baby, baby, baby, baby.†Ã‚   Julian told the officers his wife knew who had shot him. He  died not long afterwards. When informed that Julian and C.J. were dead, Teresa did not appear to the officers to be upset. â€Å"I Miss You When You’re Gone† Investigators interviewed Teresa. In one interview she claimed Julian had physically assaulted her a few days before the murders. Even so, she denied killing him or having any knowledge about who might have killed him. Teresa also told the investigators that she and Julian had talked and prayed together that night. When Julian had gone to bed, she went to the kitchen to pack his lunch for the next day. Investigators found a lunch bag in the refrigerator with an attached note that read, â€Å"I love you. I hope you have a good day.†   She had also drawn a picture of a smiley face on the bag and had written inside it, â€Å"I miss you when you’re gone.† Money Was No Object Teresa called Julians daughter Kathy on the night of the murders and told her that she had already made the necessary arrangements with the funeral home, but that she needed the names of some of Julian’s family members. She told Kathy that it wasnt necessary for her to come to the funeral home the following day. When on the next day Kathy showed up at the funeral home anyway, Teresa told her that she was the sole beneficiary of everything and that money was no longer an object. Cashing In Later that same morning, Teresa called Julian’s supervisor, Mike Campbell, and told him that Julian had been murdered. She asked if she could pick up Julian’s paycheck. He told her the check would be ready by 4 P.M., but Teresa never showed up.    She also informed in  that she was the secondary beneficiary of C.J.’s military life insurance policy. Booker told her she would be contacted within 24 hours as to when she would receive C.J.’s death benefit. money. A Braggart’s Demise On the day of the funerals, Teresa called Julians daughter Kathy prior to the services. She told Kathy she had had her hair and nails done, and she had bought a beautiful suit to wear to the funeral. During the conversation she also asked if Kathy was interested in buying Julians mobile home. Investigators learned that Teresa had tried to withdraw $50,000 from one of Julians accounts. She had done a bad job of forging Julians signature on the check, and the bank employee refused to cash it. Detectives also learned Teresa was aware of how much money she would receive upon the deaths of her husband and stepson. Months before their deaths, she was overheard telling a friend the amounts of the cash payouts coming to her, should Julian and C.J. die.   ...Just as Long as I get the Money Five days after the murder, Teresa called Lt. Booker to request she been given C.J.’s personal effects. Lt. Booker told her that the personal effects would be given to C.J.’s sister Kathy Clifton, his immediate next of kin. This angered Teresa and she continued to press the issue with Booker. When Lt. Booker refused to budge, she again asked about the life insurance money, reminding him again that she was the secondary beneficiary. When Lt. Booker told her that she would still be entitled to the life insurance, Lewis responded, â€Å"That’s fine. Kathy can have all of his effects as long as I get the money.† Confession On November 7, 2002, investigators again met with Teresa Lewis and presented all the evidence that they had against her. She then confessed she had offered Shallenberger money to kill Julian. She falsely claimed that Shallenberger had both Julian and C.J. before Julian’s money and leaving the mobile home. She said that Shallenberger had expected to receive half of the insurance money, but that she had changed her mind and decided that she wanted to keep all of it for herself. She accompanied investigators to Shallenberger’s home, where she identified him as her co-conspirator. The following day, Teresa admitted that she had not been totally honest: she confessed to Fuller’s involvement in the murders and that her 16-year-old daughter had assisted with planning the murder. Teresa Lewis Pleads Guilty When a lawyer is handed a murder case as heinous as Lewis case was, the goal switches from trying to find the client innocent, to trying to avoid the death penalty. Under Virginia law, if a defendant pleads guilty to capital murder, the judge conducts the sentencing proceeding without a jury. If the defendant pleads not guilty, the trial court may determine the case only with the consent of the defendant and concurrence of the Commonwealth. Lewis appointed lawyers, David Furrow and Thomas Blaylock, had a lot of experience in capital murder cases and knew that the appointed trial judge had never imposed the death penalty on a capital defendant. They also knew that the judge would be sentencing Fuller to life imprisonment under a plea agreement he had made with the prosecution, were Lewis to testify against Shallenberger and Fuller. Also, they hoped that the judge would show leniency since Lewis had eventually cooperated with investigators and turned over the identities of Shallenberger, Fuller, and even her daughter, as accomplices. Based on this and the heinous facts that had surfaced in the murder-for-hire-profit crime, Lewis lawyers felt that her best chance to avoid the death penalty was to plead guilty and invoke her statutory right to be sentenced by the judge. Lewis agreed. Lewis IQ Prior to Lewis plea, she went through a competency assessment by Barbara G. Haskins, a board-certified forensic psychiatrist. She also took an IQ test. According to Dr. Haskins, the testing showed that Lewis had a Full Scale IQ of 72. This placed her in the borderline range of intellectual functioning (71-84), but not at or below the level of mental retardation. The psychiatrist reported that Lewis was competent to enter the pleas and that she was able to understand and appreciate the possible outcome. The judge questioned Lewis, making sure that she understood that she was waiving her right to a jury and that she would be sentenced by the judge to either life imprisonment or death. Satisfied that she understood, he scheduled the sentencing proceedings. Sentencing Based upon the vileness of the crimes, the judge sentenced Lewis to death. The judge said that his decision was made more difficult by the fact that Lewis cooperated with the investigation and that she had pleaded guilty, but as the wife and stepmother to the victims, she had engaged in the cold blooded, pitiless slaying of two men, horrible and inhumane for profit, which fits the definition of an outrageous or wantonly vile, horrible, act. He said that she had lured men and her juvenile daughter into her web of deceit and sex and greed and murder, and within an incredibly short period of time from meeting the men, she had recruited them, been involved in planning and completing these murders, and within one week before the actual murders she had already made a failed attempt on Julian’s life. Calling her the head of this serpent, he said he was convinced that Lewis waited until she thought Julian was dead before she called the police and that she allowed him to suffer...without any feelings at all, with absolute coldness. Execution Teresa Lewis was executed on September 23, 2010, at 9 P.M by lethal injection, at Greensville Correctional Center in Jarratt,  Virginia. Asked if she had last words, Lewis said, I just want Kathy to know I love her. And I am very sorry.   Kathy Clifton, the daughter of Julian Lewis and the sister of C.J. Lewis, attended the execution. Teresa Lewis was the first female to be executed in the state of Virginia since 1912, and the first female in the state to die by lethal injection The gunmen, Shallenberger and Fuller, were sentenced to life imprisonment. Shallenberger committed suicide in prison in 2006. Christie Lynn Bean, Lewis daughter, served five years in prison because she had knowledge of the murder plot, but failed to report it. Source: Teresa Wilson Lewis v. Barbara J. Wheeler, Warden, Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women